Nobody else can take me higher
by Emerald has been Cumberbatched
Summary: A somewhat serious crack pairing story of Douglas/Merlin. This came about whilst looking at rehearsal photos for The Tempest and I couldn't get this crack ship out of my head. XD Rated T just in case.


**Welp, my first fanfic on here, I hope you enjoy it. This basically came about after I saw the rehearsal photos from The Tempest and I couldn't keep the crack image of Douglas and Merlin together out of my head...so...this is the result. **

**There are side parings of Arthur/Martin and briefly hinted but past Merlin/Gwaine. **

******I'd like to thank Hannah for her awesome Beta work! :D **

**Please review! :D **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own BBC's Merlin or John Finnemore's Cabin Pressure. The title comes from the Imagine Dragons song "Tiptoe" and I do not own them.**

The storm cloud had unleashed its promised storm by the time Martin, Douglas and Arthur had touched down at Fitton Airfield.

Huge fat blobs of rain instantly hit them as they left the plane and locked up for the night. By the time this was accomplished all three were positively soaked.

Martin grumbled and tried to pull his clothing tighter to himself all the while making sure his ridiculously over-braided hat would stay on. Douglas was watching in cool contempt while Arthur remarked about how "brilliant" the storm was.

"You think everything is brilliant, Arthur," Martin said testily as he ran across the airfield, Douglas following suit.

"Yeah, but this storm is EXTRA brilliant!" Arthur said cheerfully, his clothes already drenched to the skin.

Douglas looked up into the sky and glared. "Carolyn must have known this storm was coming, why else would she insist on not going on this flight with us? She must have known otherwise she wouldn't have left Arthur in charge of our client."

Martin snorted. "Did you see the client's face when Arthur told him his name? That was a bit weird."

"Wouldn't you think someone was playing a prank on you if your name was Merlin and you were served by someone called Arthur?" Douglas replied.

"Well yeah, but it was weird, he looked... hopeful when he heard Arthur's name."

Douglas shrugged. "Oh well who cares, the client is now on his merry way to a hotel somewhere in Paris and he's much drier than us, I say we'd better head home. See you tomorrow, Martin."

"Yeah I suppose, bye Douglas. Come on, Arthur!" Martin called and Arthur rang to his side, chatting excitedly all the while.

* * *

Douglas looked after them as they walked off, contently giggling to themselves. Somehow this made him feel terribly alone. With a sigh he set off home towards his quiet, empty house.

Three days later Carolyn got a call from Merlin again, he needed MJN to pick him up from Paris and take him to Wales. He said he would pay quite well and Carolyn agreed immediately. Too bad her pilots were not so quick to agree.

"But Carolyn it's my day off! I was going to take Arthur to Duxford again!" Martin argued.

"I'm sorry Martin but Mr. Emrys has paid quite a large sum for this trip and I expect him to get what he wants."

"For once, Carolyn, I agree with Martin, we can't possibly do this trip this week, I'm visiting my daughter!" Douglas also argued.

"Douglas, I know how important your daughter is to you but surely you can reschedule?" she implored.

"No Carolyn, I can't! I've not seen my daughter in ages!"

"Douglas, here's what I'll do, I'll give you half of whatever Mr. Emrys pays me and you can have the rest of the week off, deal?"

As Douglas looked fit to burst, Martin intercepted then. "Douglas, maybe your daughter could stay with Arthur while we go and fetch Mr. Emrys? It'll only be for a couple of hours and you can still see your daughter."

Douglas paused. "Leave her with _Arthur_?" he questioned.

Martin rolled his eyes. "Of course with Arthur! It should be pointed out to you Douglas that Arthur is pretty capable."

Douglas snorted. "I think we all know how_ capable_ he is," he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes; he was rewarded a moment later by Martin's blush.

"Okay Martin, I agree with you," Douglas finally said, "she can stay with Arthur until we get back."

Carolyn looked impatient. "Well now that that's all sorted and Douglas got all the innuendo out of his system maybe I can brief you on your flight plan?"

Her pilots nodded. "Oh goody, okay then. You will fly on Tuesday, pick up Mr. Emrys and then fly him to Wales. It's that simple, now go and get the flight plan sorted out, Martin."

Martin hurried off to do the flight plan, digging out his phone as he went so he could call Arthur.

"Hello Skip!" Arthur's cheery voice picked up at the other end. It made Martin smile.

"Hello, Arthur I was wondering if you'd do Douglas a favour..."

As Martin walked off, Douglas pondered on what to tell his ex-wife about her daughter going to Arthur's while he took a job. She wouldn't like it and might call him out on taking the job but he was confident that she would agree to the plan.

The ex-Mr.s Richardson did agree to the plan and Douglas' daughter was sent to Arthur and Martin's house first thing on Tuesday morning, Arthur was armed to the teeth with board games and mugs of hot cocoa so she wouldn't be bored at all. Douglas was truly grateful.

* * *

Soon Martin and Douglas found themselves waiting at the airport for their client. Martin was on his phone furiously texting while Douglas kept an eye out. Finally there was a shout from the other end of the hallway and a man came hurrying up to them; it was Mr. Emrys.

Martin waved him over with a smile, saying "hello again, Mr. Emrys."

The young man smiled and shook Martin and Douglas' hands. "Hello, thank you for this guys, this... this trip is important to me."

"I'm sure it is, Mr. Emrys. Allow me to help you with your bags," Douglas replied and helped pick up the bags. They both reached for the same bag and Douglas' hand briefly touched Merlin's and the young man blushed, but Douglas didn't think anything of it, he did however feel a similar blush grace his own face as he walked towards where G-ERTI was placed. He heaved the bags into the cargo hold and waited as Merlin caught up to help him and put his remaining bags in the hold. After that was done they all boarded the plane.

During the flight Martin kept looking at Douglas when he thought Douglas couldn't see him. In the end it got so annoying that he snapped at Martin, "what is is, _sir_, that you are dying to ask me?"

Martin, startled, stuttered, "n-nothing Douglas... it's just, why did you pause when helping Mr. Emrys with his bags? I saw him blush, it was weird."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Douglas retorted.

"I think you do," Martin replied.

Douglas turned to look at his Captain. "Look, my hand briefly touched his, it was nothing!"

Martin laughed "Right... so you did notice the blush, then!"

Douglas stopped in his tracks "... yes, but I don't think it means what you're implying."

Martin opened his mouth to say something but a withering look from Douglas stopped him in his tracks. The rest of the flight carried on in a smooth silence only broken when Martin enquired about the fuel...

* * *

When the plane finally landed in Cardiff Airfield Douglas breathed a sigh of relief. Finally the flight was over.

He was just leaving the plane when he looked over to Martin and saw he looked ridiculously smug. "Glad the fight is over, are we? You're not thinking about a certain Mr. Emrys?" Douglas glared back. "Shut up, Martin," he growled before storming up to the portacabin.

A voice from behind the two pilots stopped them.

"Um, listen do you guys want to go for a drink in a tavern with me?" Merlin said.

"A tavern?" Martin echoed. Now that was quite an archaic word for a pub….

"Uh yes… no, I meant pub, sorry," Merlin said sheepishly.

Douglas was going to say no but Martin, with a gleam in his eye, said "oh we would love to, wouldn't we Douglas?"

Douglas gave Martin a look which was filled with promised revenge later. "Yes," he said, sighing inwardly, "yes we would."

Merlin flashed them a big grin "Great! See you guys at seven?"

Martin nodded "Oh yes, see you!" Martin looked triumphantly at Douglas. "Looks like tonight will be pretty interesting," he smiled.

Douglas just glared and walked towards the portacabin.

* * *

Douglas looked at his reflection in the bedroom mirror. Tired eyes looked back. This was going to be a disaster. He was going to kill Martin next time he saw him, he might even hide his hat.

It wasn't that Douglas was a stranger to being attracted to men. In fact during his earlier years at Air England he was quite renowned for flirting with air crew and cabin crew of both sexes. He had built quite a reputation for himself. It's just that now, at his age, he didn't think he could still pull off the flirting game. Sure he could charm the socks off anyone with his voice, but he just thought that after three failed marriages that his ship had quite literally sailed. Of course he wouldn't let Martin catch on to these thoughts, he had to keep up his image as unshakable sky god at all costs; it felt like it was the only thing going for him right now.

Sighing he picked up his jacket from the chair and shrugged it on. He had to do this, even if it failed miserably.

* * *

Merlin was waiting for Douglas and Martin (who had brought Arthur along) as they all piled into the pub. It was quite a dark atmospheric pub with all the commodities that made it look right out of the 1500s. It wasn't the type of pub Douglas would frequent.

Martin spotted Merlin and grinned, then he nudged Arthur and the two of them walked over to his table. "Hello, Mr. Emrys!" Martin said lowering himself into a seat.

Merlin smiled "Hello, please, call me Merlin, Mr. Emrys is far too formal for a pub," he said as he shook Martin's hand.

Martin gestured to Arthur. "You may remember Arthur? He was the one serving you on the plane when you first booked with us, I must once again apologise for him continually asking where Arthur is." Martin laughed but stopped when he saw Merlin flinch at the name... that was odd. He decided to backtrack by pointing out Douglas. "And here's Douglas!" he said whilst pulling out a chair for him.

Douglas sat down hesitantly with a smile. "H-hello, Merlin!" he said reaching over the table to shake his hand. Merlin's hand felt warm in his and he tried not to think of it.

Merlin beamed at him "Hello, Douglas! Now what can I get you guys?" he said, addressing the rest of the table.

"A small wine for me," Martin replied.

"Pineapple juice!" Arthur responded.

Merlin turned to look at Douglas "And you? Douglas?"

Douglas looked at him "Apple juice, please."

Merlin looked at him weirdly for a moment but then nodded and got up to get the drinks. Martin took this opportunity to talk to Douglas.

"You seem nervous, Douglas," he smirked pointedly.

"I am not!" Douglas retorted venomously.

Martin gave a small laugh "I highly doubt that!"

Douglas only had time to glare before Merlin was back with the drinks "Here you go, fellas!" he said handing the drinks around. Douglas grabbed his and took a big swig of it, the cool sweet flavour making him feel calmer, as Martin just smiled.

For a while the group talked about their jobs and what their interests were. Merlin commented that he was a historian, and he was looking for evidence of famous battles. When Arthur asked him what battles he meant Merlin just shrugged the question off. "Oh, just one of those really boring battles that hardly anyone remembers," he said but there was sadness in his eyes. Martin was still unnerved by this.

The conversation was flowing smoothly by the time Martin announced that he and Arthur were leaving. Douglas shot him a panicked look but Martin ignored it. He said goodnight to Merlin and then to Douglas, he then gestured to Arthur to follow him out of the pub.

Merlin and Douglas were left alone.

Douglas looked over at Merlin and noticed him looking sadly down at his glass. "Well, you're very cheerful right now," he commented dryly.

Merlin looked up, startled. "Huh? Oh yeah, sorry Douglas, I was just thinking of someone."

Douglas' heart sank, he was taken! "Oh, your partner?" he enquired, trying to remain casual.

Merlin nodded. "You could say that, he was my partner, but not in a romantic sense, we were like two sides of the same coin, always together, then he went somewhere where I couldn't follow..."

Douglas paused. "Did you just quote _The Lord of the Rings_?" he asked.

Merlin chuckled "I guess I did, but it's the best way I can describe losing him..." he said.

"So he's dead?" Douglas asked and then mentally kicked himself for being so insensitive.

Merlin nodded. "He died ages ago, but one day I will meet him again," he said.

Douglas thought that sounded depressing. "I'm sorry for your loss," he stated.

Merlin smiled softly. "Thank you"

They sat in silence for a while, the only sound being the other patrons enjoying their late night drink. Douglas suddenly had an idea.

"Say, do you want to go for a walk? It's quite boring in here"

"Yeah, I could do with some fresh air," Merlin agreed. He got up out of his seat and took the glasses to the bar. Douglas had a few minutes to prepare himself before Merlin was back and gesturing to the bar door.

The two of them walked towards the bar door and out into the winter air. Merlin lifted his head to the wind, letting it ruffle a few strands of his hair. Douglas swallowed quietly at the sight.

They walked over towards the pier. The only person there with them being was a woman walking her dog. Merlin walked over towards the wooden dock and leaned against the railing. He looked out towards the sea. Douglas joined him at the railing for a moment and both were quiet as they looked out at the view.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Merlin said softly.

"It's quite a view, I'll give you that!" Douglas replied.

Merlin turned to look at him, a shy smile on his face "Yeah..." he then turned towards Douglas, "Look, don't freak out or anything, I haven't done this in years, in fact Gwai-" he stopped. "In fact you're probably the second person I've tried to flirt with ever."

Douglas' heart stopped "Uh right... well I'm not a dab hand at it either, with three failed marriages and all." he laughed bitterly.

Merlin looked at him "That doesn't really bother me, you know." And then he closed the gap between them and kissed him.

Douglas floundered for a moment before he found his footing and kissed him back. The kiss was short, but full of promise. When it ended they pulled apart and smiled at each other.

"So..." Douglas said with a smile "your place or mine?"

Merlin laughed before gently taking Douglas' hand and then they walked side by side off the pier.

* * *

The next morning Douglas appeared at work, very satisfied with himself. Martin noticed almost straight away. "Good morning, Douglas! Did you have a nice night?"

Douglas smiled at Martin. "Why yes, I did, _Sir_, not that it's any of your business, I don't ask you what you and Arthur get up to late at night!"

"Well yes of course, I was just wondering if Merlin had worked his magic on you!" and with that Martin broke into peels of laughter.

Douglas blushed a furious red. "Don't make fun of his name, Martin and if you want the details then you're in bad luck_ Captain_!"

With that Douglas stormed off to do the pre-take off checks on G-ERTI.

Arthur took that opportunity to appear round the cabin door "Hey Skip! did I just see Douglas?" he asked.

Martin nodded. "You did, Arthur and he's very pleased with himself!" he grinned and turned to face Arthur.

"Oh so that means Douglas had UMQRA last night!" Arthur said cheerfully.

"UMQRA, Arthur?" Martin asked puzzled.

"Yes Skip! UMQRA! You know that code in that episode of Sherlock that was really brilliant and that really wasn't a code and it was in fact quite a lot of happy people in cars?"

"Oh yes that... well Arthur you can call it sex you know, you are an adult and it's not a big secret!"

"Yes but it's more fun to say UMQRA, UMQRA UMQRA UMQRA!"

Martin shook his head as Arthur pranced around the office shouting the word repeatedly.

FIN.


End file.
